Ederlezi is a beautiful Romani song that gained popularity through its inclusion in the Emir Kusturica film Дом за вешање. The film was scored by Goran Bregović, who also wrote Serbian lyrics for an alternate version of the song. Unfortunately, that Serbian version tied in rather conveniently with Kusturica’s later Serbian nationalism amid the breakup of Yugoslavia. Let’s ignore the sad history of the Yugoslav Wars and look only at the song. Ederlezi is easily my favorite song about being sad that you can’t sacrifice a lamb, though I don’t know which songs can compete in that category. Ederlezi later featured in the Borat soundtrack, Stereophonic Musical Listenings That Have Been Origin in Moving Film “Borat: Cultural Learnings of America for Make Benefit Glorious Nation of Kazakhstan,” which I am still convinced is an excellent collection of folk music. There are some exceptions, of course, including the fake national anthem of Kazakhstan used in Borat, “O Kazakhstan,” which has been played instead of the actual national anthem at multiple awards ceremonies (presumably by mistake). Anyway, here’s Ederlezi, along with footage from the movie in which it originally appeared, which I’ve been told is quite good, despite some dated elements (including the English title).

See you all at practice,

Lev “I told you Kazakhstan would come up again” Bernstein

Secretary, Quiz Bowl at Almaty, 1854-1997